Health and education

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

According to "How's your Utah school district's budget for next year?" (Tribune, May 2), much of the Legislature's increase in school funding will go toward "covering rising health-insurance and retirement costs."

One could also say that much of our education money goes to pay teachers. Or administrators. Or for books and computers. Or keeping schools heated in winter.

What is the point The Trib is trying to make? That decent health care costs money? Is that a surprise? When did health care costs not increase?

If the Legislature were to increase funding to education by 20 percent rather than a pathetically measly 2 percent, the amount dedicated to new health care costs would be much more negligible. Now, that would be a headline.

Gerald Elias

Salt Lake City